The Siren of Darkness
by bobisdacool1
Summary: A decade after establishing the Sorcerer Kingdom, the New World is still very much outside the reach of Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown. Frustrated by the repetitive nature of empire building, Ainz resolves to temporarily escape his duties and explore the far fringes of the planet with only his Dark Elf children as companions. However, isolation from Nazarick could be his downfall.
1. Prologue: The Eyes of Ambition

**Prologue**

The knight in full plate armor stood before the girl and her little sister, his sword drooping low. His blade shimmered in the moonlight, ready to end their lives in a single merciful stroke, yet the knight did not appear very interested in his task.

"Please release the child. She will be safe under to protection of the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown himself – I promise!"

The black-clad warrior knew that his words were hollow in the ears of this young woman and in the hearts of the many formless souls who were huddling inside their cabins – witnesses to the unfortunate event that would soon follow.

"Lord Momon, how can you so dutifully serve that undead _monster_?"

"My liege is quite a benevolent ruler. He came to your village – "

"He _marched_ into my village right at our most desperate hour with an _ultimatum_! And he did the same to _all_ of the other villages around here. Our suffering is his prosperity!"

"But… you aren't suffering anymore now. The curses placed on your village have been extinguished, your cabins have been rebuilt, your harvest is expected to be the largest in living memory – "

The girl standing before him seemed to grow in stature as she audibly scoffed at the warrior's pleading explanations. Her eyes glowed with the burning amber flames of moral rigidity – the pure essence of one who embraces martyrdom. Oftentimes the strength of solitary resistance scales with the magnitude of the occurring change; although there were many sympathetic eyes upon this girl, they were all filled with distant pity. A tiny droplet of power is all it takes to make one become a hoarder - in the case of this girl, the above-average aptitude for arcane magic had become a potent curse. When one has been given their first sliver of control over their life - when they get their first glimpse of the bright stars just beyond the horizon - how can they ever be expected to be content? That dreadfully minuscule glimpse was all she would be given; it would be her younger sister who would be treated to the full view. How could fate be so cruel - to give her so much privilege, and yet make her life feel so empty?

"My sister will not be his slave, and neither will I."

A cold silence followed for what seemed like several hours. The dark warrior Momon couldn't help but switch his gaze to the small girl clinging to the young woman's side. In his earlier days, the figure behind the mask might have felt lingering tinges of sympathy for these humans and their feeble pursuit of self-determination, but this was not the reason for the black knight's hesitation. The small girl had clearly resolved on her destiny. She was ready to cross that horizon, and never look back. The dark knight nodded in understanding, for there was only one thing left to do.

The young insurrectionist's fingers briefly tightened around the child's unreceptive hand. Her amber flames wavered slightly for a brief moment, before extinguishing completely into a beautiful hazel. The dark warrior turned away towards the forested horizon, extending a tired, but firm, hand to the young girl, to replace the one belonging to her fallen sister.

"I saw you."

"I know. I saw you too."

The child gave one final apprehensive glance to the peaceful, lifeless body lying next to her.

"Take me to him." She determinedly wrapped her hand around two fingers on Momon's gauntlet. A Gate slowly swirled in front of them for a few seconds as the hero and the newly-freed seer silently proceeded into it.

_I wish I could get that chance - to peer beyond the horizon once again._


	2. Chapter 1: The Cost of Permission

_**(A/N) Hello! Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, and critiqued my previous chapter. I'll be tweaking the contents of these first few chapters until I get close to that sweet nirvana that one gets when there are no more worthwhile edits to be made to one's work. So… don't be surprised if the tone or meaning of various scenes feel radically different from when you first read them. I'm also still unsure whether I will keep the M rating, since depending on how descriptive I am in upcoming scenes, I may be able to avoid being buried by FFN's filters. (These notes will be removed as successive chapters are released. Look to the most recent chapter for updates as the story progresses.) **_

**Part 1**

"My lord… I – I don't understand! You're leaving… us?"

The alluring creature choked on her words as she attempted to keep her gaze low and collected. She could not look into the ravishingly radiant ruby rays emanating from deep within her lord's orbital hollows without disgracing herself even further. This was not appropriate behavior for Albedo, the Overseer of the Guardians of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, second only to Ainz Ooal Gown himself, or so she wanted to believe. Even so, this sudden meeting with her beloved overlord was making her understandably distraught.

"Albedo, you know that I would never abandon the ones I love so dearest. This is a temporary excursion."

Already, the pressure building in his hollowed chest cavity from Albedo's painful perturbation was making Ainz swelter within his fine robes. Despite having practiced this difficult conversation in his mind for nearly 3 hours beforehand, the situation was quickly deteriorating beyond his control. Maybe he should not have dismissed Cixous, the maid attending him for the day, as well as the Eight-Edge Assassins – the memory of one of Albedo's previous outbursts while in their presence still disturbed him. However, if he was to be successful in placating the entirety of Nazarick on this new plan of his, he would first have to convince Albedo.

"I… still don't understand why you want to go…"

Fortunately, the hefty pressure from her morose gaze had softened slightly. The seductive ebony wings protruding from her waist ceased in their fluttering trepidation. She turned her heavenly face upwards towards the skeletal visage of her lord, her golden eyes still begging for him to renege on his plan.

"There is still much of this world that is unknown to us. My – no, our – kingdom still has a horizon. I want to know what lies beyond, for one day we will have conquered it all!"

Ainz knew that his bravado was too exaggerated for a being of his stature, but he did not want to admit to Albedo the true reason why he wanted to leave.

"_Our_… kingdom?" Albedo pondered for a moment, her wings beginning to beat again, but this time with undertones of lubricious desire. "My lord, you will need someone to accompany you on your journey, will you not? I would be more than happy to join you, just the two of us!"

This time it was Ainz who averted his gaze, cursing himself for not anticipating this quite reasonable request. As he searched for a proper response, his bony nostrils sensed a thick, sweet odor filling the room as the thump of wings beating reverberated throughout the room. Unfortunately for the virgin succubus, she was the last person Ainz would allow to accompany him alone on this adventure. Besides, he needed her to remain in Nazarick to manage the kingdom while he was away – yes, he had a practical reason to reject her request! However, he knew that she would never allow him to travel alone – Albedo feared for her beloved lord's safety every time he stepped outside of his chambers despite the feeble adversaries he had heretofore encountered in this world.

"My apologies, Albedo, but I am afraid that the Sorcerer Kingdom cannot afford to be without both its King and its… _Queen_… for the duration that I intend to be away – "

The deafening thrashing of angelic wings momentarily paused before beating almost twice as fast as before, nearly stirring up a whirlwind within the meeting room as items not fastened down began to float around the chamber.

"…_Queen_…?" Albedo swirled her tongue around her teeth as she felt the word warm her insides.

Seizing the opportunity, consequences be damned, Ainz continued, " – So, I will be accompanied by… those who would be… most advantageous… for such a journey…"

He quickly wracked his brain for the NPC who would cause him the fewest headaches. _Sebas? No, I'm not trying to save everyone I meet on this journey. Cocytus? No, he'd intimidate anybody that I meet. Demiurge? Hell no! _Ainz was becoming painfully aware of how the pause in his statement was growing, but was relieved that Albedo did not seem to notice. The jet engine roar that had engulfed the room almost had a calming effect on Ainz now that Albedo seemed to be on his side. _If only I could take someone quiet, like Mare… That's it! I'll take the twins – the kingdom won't suffer too much in their absence, and they really deserve some quality time with a father figure… is this going to be enough to satisfy Albedo? _

"…And that would be Aura and Mare – if that's alright with you, Albedo."

"Of-of course, my lord! I will be your most faithful partner and co-ruler in your absence! But, Lord Ainz, I must ask, when do you intend to wed? I'll have to inform all of the Guardians and servants of Nazarick… the maids will need to prepare… fortunately, I already crafted over a dozen wedding dresses just for this occasion, but if you don't like any of them, I'll be more than happy to create one from scratch that is exactly to your desire…"

_Shit._

**Part 2**

A light breeze rustled through the blossoming tree, dispersing a dazzling plume of pollen through a nearby open window. A warm ray of sunlight set the spores sparkling as they gently drifted into the fibers of a fragrant old quilt, which undulated softly from the precious creature resting under it.

A large shadow in the corner of the homely timbered room continued to hesitate as he tried not to disturb the warm serenity of the scene. The figure's robes were still a mess from what he had to endure several minutes prior, in order to secure permission for his future excursion. It still didn't feel right to him, this entire romance being the result of his own impulsive foolishness, but after the act was all said and done, he was comforted by the peace that washed over him, emanating from his future wife, whose greatest desire had finally been fulfilled. This was, of course, in exchange for delaying the wedding until after he returned from his trip.

Ainz was not quite sure why he was just standing there, lurking in the corner of Mare's room, but this was what he needed in order to rest his tired soul. He could inform Mare of the news when the boy woke up.

The old boughs of the Gigantic Tree sighed softly in the wind, rhythmically resonating with the slow, sweet breaths of the pretty child beneath the covers. The direction of the breeze shifted slightly, causing the glittering pollen to float further into the room. The soft specks lightly landed on the adorably droopy ears poking out at the head of the tiny bed. A faint murmur rose from the peaceful creature as he began to stir. Golden flecks began to drift onto the boy's slender little nose, which began to twitch like a rabbit. By now the warm rays were illuminating the elf's silky golden hair, making his tranquil caramel face appear to glow. The pollen was now falling all over his cute round face – settling onto his dimpled cheeks, falling into his thin trembling eyelashes, and melting into his timid little lips. His breaths started to lose their soothing rhythm, with one long, strained inhalation followed by a sudden squeak of a sneeze. Slowly, the form under the covers began to uncurl, with slender arms and legs fanning out into a cute asterisk. Petite hands balled up to rub sleepy round eyes, then another squeaky sneeze. Finally, the eyes slid open, peering into darkened corner of the room before jumping in surprise at the figure silently standing there.

"L-lord Ainz!" Mare leaped out of his bed, trying to appear composed in his scarlet plaid pajamas.

"I did not mean to intrude, er… in fact, I had just arrived…" Ainz became distracted by the boy trying to rub the pollen off of his face. "So, umu, do you know where your sister is?"

Ainz already knew where Aura was, of course, but Mare answered anyway, even though the question made him appear a little bit dejected.

"I actually need to speak to both of you…" Before Ainz could finish, a second elf darted through the window, curled into a roll, and leapt in front of her brother.

"I'm here, Lord Ainz!" she announced, shoving Mare to the side. He gingerly rubbed his arm, still red from where he slept on it, but kept his beaming gaze towards Ainz.

"Good! Now, how would you two like to accompany me on a journey to the edge of the world?"

"Count me in, Lord Ainz!"

"M-me too!"

_Well, that was easy…_


End file.
